


BatLantern - Oblivious in Green

by SereneSorrow



Category: Batman - All Media Types, DC Animated Universe, DCU (Animated), Justice League: War
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Eventual Smut, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-17
Updated: 2016-05-01
Packaged: 2018-05-29 16:38:33
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,883
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6384229
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SereneSorrow/pseuds/SereneSorrow
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Batman and Green Lantern are soulmates and Lantern is to busy showing off to notice.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is a not-for-profit fanwork. All characters are the property of their respective copyright holders.  
> Okay, so I've never written about Green Lantern before, so I don't know if I'll have the right description's about his powers and such, but I gave it a try because I was actually focused enough to work on this idea.  
> ...and the story doesn't flow as well as I was hoping because I found I was using to much directly from the movie, so I decided to just clip the scenes I wanted to add into and then tell what goes on after the end of the movie in chapter 2.  
> *** means the POV has changed

     Green Lantern flew through the dark skies of Gotham City, noting the blimps that parted the smog, casting searchlights over the filthy streets. He didn't think he had ever seen a city so desolate on his home planet. He'd heard of the abductions, and despite having an entire space sector to patrol he still felt that Earth was his first responsibility, so he had decided to investigate. It didn't take long to find what he was looking for, a woman being snatched by a cloaked assailant and dragged through the skies, and he followed them over the rooftops. Getting ahead of the abductor he stopped their advance.  
      He narrowly saved the woman when she was thrown from the abductor, placing her carefully on a nearby rooftop. He expected the usual gratitude he received from the people of Coast City, but the woman took on a brusque, wary demeanor, demanding to know the cost of her rescue. The attitude was off-putting, who expected to have to pay a hero for rescuing them? What was it about Gotham City? There was definitely something wrong with this place.  
      "You're welcome, lady." Green Lantern said with mild revulsion, returning to his fight with the abductor.  
      He was taken by surprise when the abductor tossed him through a restaurant sign, and the cloak burned away to reveal high tech armor. The abductor threw him across to another rooftop, hitting him repeatedly before he could focus on a construct. Suddenly a dark shadow slammed into the abductor and they both tumbled away from him. It took him a moment to get his bearings but Lantern got to his feet and took flight again, sending a construct of a locomotive against the abductor.  
      With the abductor down for the moment he cast light from his ring at the shadow that had been keeping the abductor busy. The light revealed a man all in black, with a cowl that had bat ears, and a bat logo on his chest.  
      "Batman? You're real?" He asked, shocked that the whispered rumors he had heard about a vigilante in Gotham were true.  
      "Turn off the damn light before they see us." Batman barked at him.  
      "Before who sees us?"  
      "This is the GCPD, put your hands in the air!" Lantern looked around as white light fell on them from a nearby blimp.  
      "They don't like us much." Lantern stated.  
      "The world's afraid of us." Batman replied, then suddenly sprang at him, crashing into his side and forcing them down to the rooftop as a blast of fire barely missed them. Batman landed on top of him, and the air was forced out of his lungs, the man was _heavy_ and judging from the ridges that grated into his chest a lot of that weight was from the fact that the man was wearing a hell of a lot of body armor. Their legs tangled together for a moment but Batman extricated himself quickly and shot some kind of grappling line at the abductor, jumping off the rooftop.  
      Catching his breath, and ignoring the stinging on his skin where he knew bruises would be forming all along his front from that damn armor, Green Lantern flew after Batman. "Looks like you could use a hand."  
      "Take your glow stick and go home, Gotham's mine."  
      "No see this entire space sector is my beat." Now Lantern was getting angry. Who did this guy think he was?  
      "Uh-huh." Batman dismissed.  
      "I'm serious! I'm Green Lantern, damn it!" Chasing the abductor through the skies Lantern had to admit that it was impressive that Batman never crashed into anything, he always found a way to plant his feet and run along or jump over any obstacle in his path. Eventually the abductor made its way into the sewers, and the two heroes followed.  
***  
      Batman led the way down into the sewers. Despite his annoyance with the way 'Green Lantern' had revealed his presence to the GCPD, and interrupted his tracking of the abductor he didn't feel as opposed to the company as he knew he should. He pushed the man's bragging to the back of his mind and used the time to catalogue his injuries as he searched the sewers. So far he judged that tonight he had only a few new bruises, and the cracked rib had fully healed from his last fight with Bane, so the only thing noteworthy was the stinging sensation low on his belly. It wasn't a bruise, nothing had hit him in that particular spot, and his armor covered sufficiently that it should have taken a serious hit to cause any damage. He would remember a hit like that.  
      It took his detective mind longer than it should have to make the connection, but when the realization came he wished the answer hadn't occurred to him at all. This was what it felt like when a soulmark was forming. The stinging sensation was the skin scarring into an identifying mark. He had read up on the phenomenon, after adopting his Robins he knew they would need guidance on the subject one day and they were unlikely to be as disinterested in the subject as he was. Especially Dick, after coming to terms with his parents murder they boy had proved to be and effervescent personality, even bringing frequent smiles to Jason's usually harsh visage. A soulmark would slowly begin to form after the first physical contact between the partners, though scientists would often argue over every uncertainty of the process. Often contrary to evidence some would state that it was from the first skin to skin contact, while others would claim that the mark would appear in the exact place that had been touched. Batman knew that neither was the case in this instance. He had first grabbed 'Green Lantern' around the chest when the abductor had shot a blast of fire at them, and their skin had never touched, only the lower half of his face was even uncovered when he was in costume. The soulmark he could feel forming had been between layers of armor and the Lantern's suit as well when they had crashed on the rooftop, but he hadn't been in contact with anyone else since he had left the cave at the start of the night, there was no one else it could be responding to. In any case Batman had never had any intention of seeking out his soulmate, and if it somehow was someone else then there was certainly no need to broach the subject here and now. He could, should, and _would_ ignore this. Finding the abductor and discovering what was going on in his city was far more important.  
      "Are you even listening to me?" Green Lantern asked as Batman refocused on his surroundings.  
      "Not really." He said, stooping to inspect a section of the tunnel.  
      After a moment of stupefied silence the man started up again. "So, as I was saying, Green Lantern can do anything."  
      "Except shut up apparently." Batman quipped back at the man. He was clearly an ammeter, leaving the tracking of the abductor to Batman but distracting him from any clues he might spot with his constant chatter. Who would leave an entire, what was it, _space sector?_ up to this man? Unless he was misdirecting attention from an immense talent with a flamboyant display to create doubt of his abilities for his later advantage, which Batman supposed could be the case, it was a method he employed himself in his own alter ego.  
      "Wow someone forgot to take their True Blood tonight."  
      "I'm not a vampire."  
      "Seriously? I thought with the darkness and the vanishing, then what? Super-strength?"  
      "No."  
      "Can you fly?"  
      "In a plane."  
      "Wait, you're not just some guy in a bat costume are you?" Lantern asked, incredulous.  
      Batman turned to face him with only a smirk in answer.  
      "Are you freaking kidding me?" Green Lantern landed in the sewer water to face him but Batman kept silent, letting the man talk. Lantern distracted himself with his chatter and with his practice it was easy enough to slip the green ring off of the other man's finger.  
      "What's this do?" He asked, holding up the ring. As the man noticed his ring in Batman's hand his Lantern uniform disappeared and Batman took in the air force flight suit, complete with a name tag that proclaimed his identity to be Hal Jordan. Batman continued speaking. "No buttons, I assume it works on concentration."  
      "How'd you do that?"  
      "You weren't concentrating." Batman smirked again. So maybe he was enjoying teasing the man.  
      "You won't do that again." Green Lantern was clearly angry as he summoned the ring right out of Batman's fingers and back to his own, but it was his own fault for being unaware enough to lose control of the power he boasted of. Perhaps he wasn't intelligent enough for the bragging to be an act.  
      "Unless I want to." Batman said, turning to continue.  
      "That's it, lets rumba spooky!" Green Lantern grabbed his shoulder, but Batman twisted and slammed him into the tunnel wall, shushing him as he heard a noise farther along the sewer. They moved onward, peering around a corner and Batman could tell that Lantern was planning to rush in and confront the abductor.  
      "Hold fast. We need more info." Batman ordered, placing a hand on the man's shoulder.  
      "That's a bomb and he just armed it!" Lantern insisted. Ignoring Batman's warning he rushed the abductor, who activated some sort of self-destruct in the armor it wore. Luckily Green Lantern thought quickly enough to return to where Batman waited and built a construct around them to protect them from the blast.  
      They inspected the device the abductor had left behind, and Batman determined that it was some kind of alien computer. He said as much, and Green Lantern asked about the alien known as Superman.  
      "I've researched him, his power levels are--"  
      "Not gonna be a problem for me." Green Lantern bragged.  
      "We'll see." From what he had seen so far Batman doubted very much that Green Lantern was a match for Superman.  
***  
      Green Lantern set down his plane construct on a rooftop and dispelled it as Batman leapt out. The entire trip had been short, though not as short as if he had flown by himself, he wouldn't have needed the plane. The entire way he had been distracted by the bruises he had gotten in all the fighting with the abductor earlier that night. His suit protected him from a lot but sometimes his focus slipped with strong enough, or repeated impacts. There was also the bruise _very_ low on his stomach that he was sure was from Batman's armor. That one was the most persistent annoyance and he tried to keep himself distracted from the discomfort with conversation, entirely one-sided, Batman wasn't much of a talker. He saw Batman pull a device that must have been a tracker out of his belt.  
      "Superman's close, I've been tracking his flight path."  
      "On what? Your own satellite?" Lantern asked. Batman looked over his shoulder without a word and turned back to the device he was studying. "I was kidding. You have a satellite?" They were interrupted by a ball of fire that flew past them, another abductor being punched by Superman. "First one to the building is--" Lantern started, but Batman had already sent out a grapple and was swinging away. "I really hate that guy." Lantern said to himself as he followed.  
      Arriving second to the half demolished Lexcorp building Green Lantern created a cube construct around Batman, planning to take down Superman without interference.  
***  
      Batman stood in the cube and watched smoke billow from the condemned building Green Lantern had rushed into without a plan. He could hear grunts of pain from the man, and flashes of green light from his constructs. Batman winced in unintended sympathy, knowing that the fight was not going as Green Lantern had intended. Eventually Lantern was thrown from the building and smashed through the construct that had contained Batman. Ducking away he saw the Lantern crash into a fuel truck that exploded on impact. Batman didn't have time to worry about him though, it looked like he was about to have a one-on-one fight with Superman himself.  
      Green Lantern rejoined the fight eventually, and while Batman was sure he could have gotten out of Superman's hold once he had explained, the temporary rescue from a crushed trachea was grudgingly appreciated. Lantern's provoking of Superman into tossing them around like a ping pong ball as they were contained inside a green spherical construct was not.  
      "Lantern focus, you stop concentrating and that shield breaks apart." Batman wondered if the man knew any meditation techniques. That would certainly help with his ability to concentrate and might have an effect on the man's incessant need to talk. Lantern clearly didn't appreciate his input, and Superman quickly shattered the defensive construct.  
      "This guy's going to kill us!" Lantern shouted, preparing for another attack.  
      "No he won't. You bruise but you don't kill, do you, Clark?"  
      "You've made your point, Bruce Wayne." Superman said.  
      "Who the hell is Bruce Wayne?" Green Lantern asked.  
      Not that it was a bruise to his ego but Batman was surprised that an air force man hadn't heard of the CEO of a company that had endured controversy when it had pulled out of U.S. military defense contracts. The fight was over by this point, having cleared up the misunderstanding, though Lantern was slow to catch on. After a brief exchange they were confronted by helicopters and Batman led the way into the sewers.  
***  
      Alien soldiers were pouring through the portal, and eventually smashing their way out of the building that Batman, Lantern and Superman had gathered inside. Batman had to admit that he was running out of weapons and Lantern's power ring would be an advantage in a fight like this. He was able to plug the hole in the side of the building and continue fighting those that had already emerged. The vast energy the ring must contain was impressive though the potential was clearly limited by the wielder's imagination, and split focus seemed to be his downfall, soon enough the construct keeping the aliens contained disappeared without even being destroyed by the enemy. Green Lantern just hadn't been able to stay focused on it.  
***  
      "That wasn't so hard." Green Lantern boasted, so of course more aliens immediately emerged from another portal. These were taken care of instantly however, and suddenly Green Lantern was faced with the Flash. "Flash! Great to see you! Oh and that's Batman." Lantern enthused.  
      "Batman's real?"  
      "Yeah, he's over there."  
      The Flash raced over to Batman and they actually had what was probably the closest Batman came to an actual conversation. Okay, so Batman had actually heard of the Flash, so Batman actually had something complimentary to say. There was absolutely no reason for the strange jealous feeling Green Lantern had. That was just ridiculous, he didn't need _Batman's_ approval, where did that feeling even come from?  
***  
      Okay, so Superman had been captured. He could handle that. Who else would, Batman? That tool didn't even have any powers. He could just stay and tell _Flash_ what to do. Before he could get very far the tool himself appeared.  
      "I can handle this. Get out of my way." Lantern argued.  
      Batman blocked him from moving forward. "You're gonna die."  
      "Then I die." He said, shoving Batman's hand from his shoulder.  
      "What are you trying to prove?" Batman said, cool as ever.  
      "I'm not trying to prove anything, you phenomenal douche bag. Don't act like you know me. You don't."  
      "We're just somewhat alike."  
      "We are nothing alike." Lantern said. He knew for a fact he didn't have _anything_ in common with _Batman_.  
      "As far as I can tell Hal, you and I are the only normal people here."  
      "I never told you my name." His eyes widened in shock.  
      "Saw it on your flight suit."  
      "You're pretty south of normal, spooky. You know that, right?"  
      Surprisingly, Batman pulled back his cowl, showing Hal his face. "When I was 10, my parents were murdered in front of my eyes. I've spent my life training to fight the same sort of criminals that took them from me. But this is different. This isn't about me."  
      "Uh, you're telling me this why?" Sure it was a depressing story, and damn if that wasn't a hell of a good reason to be running around the sewers in a bat costume, but what was Batman trying to tell him?  
      "This is bigger than I am and it's bigger than you are. Get out of your own way. Focus on what's important here. Everyone else. Regroup with the others."  
      "And do what exactly?" Lantern asked, starting to think Batman might have a good point here somewhere.  
      "You're loud. They'll listen to you if you've got something to say. Try to at least sound smart." Great, and the man was still insulting him. "Keep them alive. Keep Darkseid busy till I get back."  
      "Get back? From where?" Lantern asked, as Batman pulled on a discarded coat and hat that had been left in the rubble.  
      "We won't win without our big gun." Batman said, climbing up the pile of shattered street.  
      "Where the hell are you going?"  
      "To get Superman." He said as an abductor grabbed and carried him away.  
      "Bruce Wayne huh?" Lantern scoffed. "Moron's crazier than I am." Still, that plan took guts, and maybe Green Lantern was starting to respect Batman.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well I wanted to have the story finished at two chapters, but I didn't have time over the weekend to finish the last two scenes, so I cut the chapter in half. This is part one and hopefully I can find time this week to finish part two.

     "Did you really just team up with Superman?"  
      Bruce glanced over his shoulder at the three boys coming down the stairs into the bat-cave. He was at the computer writing a report on the invasion, as well as cataloguing a few samples and collecting a few video clips that bystanders had already uploaded to the internet.  
      "More like, jumped through a portal to an alien world to _rescue_ Superman after he was captured." Bruce answered.  
      "Seriously? He needed help?" Jason asked.  
      "You could probably beat him in a fight then, right?" Dick joked.  
      "And all those other heroes at the white house, did we even know about half of them?" Tim asked.  
      "Cyborg and Shazam are new."  
      "I can't believe the president thanked you, does this mean the police are going to stop shooting at us on patrol?" Dick asked.  
      "Shouldn't you three be getting ready for school?" Bruce would rather avoid that conversation, the president might sway public opinion but much of the GCPD were unlikely to be swayed from their desire to see the Batman behind bars. Too many of them were losing their bribes due to his interference.  
      "We are ready, just wanted to make sure you survived the alien invasion. Figured you could be down here bleeding to death since you didn't come up to see us off to school." Tim teased.  
      "Alright, you can see I'm fine, get going before Alfred has to come looking for you." Bruce said, closing down the computer and ushering the boys back to the stairs.  
      After they left he walked into the changing room and started stripping out of his costume. He had huge bruises just about everywhere, but he had managed to avoid broken bones and torn muscles. He was also so exhausted that it wasn't until he was unclothed that he remembered his soulmark. Looking at it in the dim light of the bat-cave the green mark was just below his navel and was in the same shape as the simple lantern emblem that was emblazoned on the Green Lantern's uniform. So, his deductions had been correct. As he dressed he idly wondered how long a confrontation could be avoided. He had already revealed his true identity to Hal, so he wouldn't be hard for the other man to track down. A public scene could reveal their identities, unacceptable, it wasn't just his own work at stake but his Robin's identities as well.  
      Climbing the stairs up to the house Bruce concluded that if Lantern demanded a conversation about this he would just have to agree and request it be kept as private as possible. The man was loud, prone to making scenes, he would just have to make sure that they kept the conversation civil. Which might be impossible, since Bruce had very little interest in pursuing a relationship. It wasn't anything against Hal personally, just his own desire to remain unattached. It made his work safer, and he didn't have enough time for his sons as it was, add a long term lover to the equation and his schedule would become unmanageable. Then there was always the chance that Hal would feel the same, he had displayed interest in Wonder Woman, and his work may well keep him busy in the far reaches of space anyway. It seemed possible that this wasn't even a real problem that needed solving. For now he would just sleep.  
***  
      Okay, so 'we got this' wasn't the best battle cry, and he had definitely heard himself give more than one order that sounded like it came right out of Batman's mouth. This was getting crazy, why was his mind so focused on Batman? He'd managed the fight against Darkseid well enough but as soon as it was over he kept finding his thoughts wandering back to things that Batman had said to him. He was probably just exhausted after being awake nearly twenty-four hours, fighting that first abductor with Batman, fighting Darkseid well into the day. He was ready for a hot shower and a long night's (or day's) sleep. His mind was clearly all over the place, he definitely needed the rest. Unfortunately it didn't look like he was going to get it.  
      "The president wants to thank us?" Hal said into the phone. "Wait, how did you even get this number?"  
      "Batman." Was all Cyborg needed to say. Of course Batman knew his phone number, he new Hal's name after all, it wouldn't be difficult to look up his number with that.  
      Hal sighed. It had taken forever just to get back to his Coast City apartment, every time he had tried to slip away from Metropolis he had been waved down to help with the clean up. He hadn't noticed Batman anywhere, that man could disappear like nobody's business, maybe he was a vampire after all.  
      "So what are we doing about this thank you then?" Hal asked Cyborg.  
      "Superman, Wonder Woman, Shazam and Flash have all agreed, and Batman said if nothing came up in Gotham he would be there. Seems like the public wants to think of us as a team so it's better if we all show. Today. In about three hours."  
      "Three hours? I've been home five minutes!" Hal complained.  
      That three hours felt longer than all of last night. He left for D.C. immediately, and got pulled back into cleanup as he passed by Metropolis, eventually he was the last to arrive. Okay, maybe the president's speech took even longer. It was a _really_ bad speech.  
      "Costume? This is my uniform." Lantern complained under his breath.  
      "Quiet." Batman barked beside him.  
      "Oh, now you wanna bark orders, after I did the heavy lifting and pulled everyone together?" Lantern quipped.  
      "You're referring to when you botched my very simple directives and Wonder Woman led the charge?"  
      "Cyborg showed you a video?"  
      "He e-mailed it to me."  
      "I really hate you bats, and we're not friends either."  
      "Then we let them think we are."  
      "Why?"  
      "It'll keep Gotham P.D. off my back, the Air Force off yours."  
       Hal wasn't sure that was all it would take to give him the excuses he needed to be off world for long periods of time, but whatever. He was just glad when the speech was over and he could get back to his apartment. Even if he did get roped into cleanup in Metropolis again. He really needed to start flying _around_ the city, not over it.  
      Hal decided to forget everything else and fell right into bed, so it wasn't until the next morning when he finally got around to that shower that he noticed. His soulmark. He had a soulmark. That wasn't there yesterday. He might not have noticed it that morning either, with his eyes still glued shut for lack of coffee, if his fingers hadn't grazed over the skin below his navel and caused an immediate tingling sensation that spread warmth down his spine. His eyes snapped open as he realized just how completely aroused he suddenly was and he stared down at the little black bat that stretched its wings under his navel.  
      "You have got to be kidding me!" He yelled. Not possible. Batman. _Not_ possible.  
      Apparently it was. He fell back against the wall of the shower, breath speeding up, and he couldn't help it. It was nearly painful, how badly he needed to be touched. He wrapped one hand around himself and the other he skimmed over the soulmark again, rubbing it, bearing down, it almost felt like...like...  
***  
      Bruce woke with a start, a gasp of pleasure passing his lips. he felt heat flaring and a tingling sensation just below his navel. He was already rock hard, and he realized dimly that if he wasn't touching himself then it was because Hal had touched his own soulmark. They were connected, touching your soulmark aroused both partners, no matter the distance apart. He tried to even his breathing, but the desire was winding tighter, and his hips thrust up reflexively. Groaning he gave up trying to control himself and slid his hands down to touch himself.  
***  
      It took a moment to register, what Hal was doing was certainly distracting, but then he felt it. An answering ghost of sensation in his soulmark, pleasure winding higher. He jerked back and his head slammed against the tile behind him as his knees gave out, that sense of touch in his soulmark meant that Batman was touching his own soulmark too, they were both pleasuring themselves and feeling each other do it. His eyes slid closed as his heart raced and his breathing increased even more, he was nearly... he was almost...  
***  
      Bruce worked more quickly, feeling Hal doing the same, and he was sure that he could feel them both come in the same instant. He lay there panting for air for a long time afterwards, eventually he succumbed to sleep once again, exhaustion from the night's patrol and over twenty-four hours without sleep compounding on the lassitude from his release.  
***  
      It was so intense he must have blacked out, he was only dimly aware of the water striking his skin being cool, and turning colder. He pushed himself up under the water and cleaned himself off, being careful to avoid the soulmark, he didn't need to go through that again.  
      Sitting in the kitchen minutes later, finally taking that first sip of coffee, Hal stared at the cup as he placed it back on the table. _What the hell was he going to do about this?_ He'd always assumed his soulmate would be a woman, for a while he had even hoped it would be his boss, Carol. Sure, he found the occasional man attractive too, but he had just assumed... He shook his head, _it didn't really matter did it?_ Anyway, he hadn't given his soulmate much thought since he had become a Green Lantern. How would it even work out when he spent so much time in space, _and Batman? Seriously?_ The man was, well, okay so he had started to respect the man by the time they had defeated Darkseid. Maybe he was different out of costume, and that story about his parents showed that there was more motivating him than the overconfidence that Hal had started with.  
      He was definitely going to over think this whole thing if he just sat here thinking about it all morning. The best thing to do was probably to talk to Batman. Which would have to wait, since he was actually supposed to be at work in an hour.  
***  
      Batman had more trouble configuring the tracking program to follow the Green Lantern's energy signature than he had with Superman. He got it done, it just took a while. When it was done he packed the portable tracker into his utility belt and headed out on patrol.  
      He was staking out a warehouse where Bane was supervising an arms shipment when another check of the tracker indicated Green Lantern had entered Gotham City. He was on the other side, but it wouldn't be hard to get the showboat's attention. Batman jumped from the rooftop and tossed an explosive baterang to an unattended crate of grenades, setting the whole thing off in an explosion that would alert the GCPD as well. Bane turned to where he had landed immediately but Batman had already moved back into the shadows, circling the still burning debris. He had enough experience fighting Bane by now that stalling him long enough for Lantern to arrive was no problem, in fact it was probably more of a problem that he did arrive.  
      "Wow, what kind of steroids is this guy on?" Lantern asked, catching Batman with a construct as Bane threw him at the wall.  
      "Venom. Just sever the tubes that pump it into his system and taking him down won't be a problem." Batman informed, ignoring the 'rescue'.  
      Batman returned to the rooftop and observed how Lantern handled the fight. Hal underestimated Bane, and the fight took longer than it should have, but he took Bane down in the end.  
      "You're welcome." Hal said, slightly out of breath as he landed beside Batman again.  
      Sirens could finally be heard in the distance. "That's the police, we need to move."  
      "Oh come on, we just caught the bad guy, we can put in a public appearance, get a little gratitude." Lantern said with a wide grin.  
      "This is my city, we don't stick around to gloat, the police don't appreciate having their jobs done for them. If you want to talk then we leave now." Batman jumped from the rooftop, quickly leaving Lantern behind.  
      Lantern followed, without a word for once, though as soon as Batman paused strategically on the edge of a rooftop Lantern landed in front of him. "So how did you know I was in the area anyway?"  
      "I've been tracking you're flight path all night."  
      "Okay, seriously, how do you have your own satellite?"  
      Batman tilted his head to the side, gesturing with one hand as well. Lantern looked over where he indicated and saw a towering skyscraper with the name 'Wayne' staring him in the face.  
***  
      _Oh._ So Batman owned a skyscraper. A really big one with his name on it. Huh. "I guess I need to get my head out of the clouds, never heard of you." He was trying for a lighthearted joke, though batman hadn't exactly displayed a sense of humor at any point so far.  
      Batman didn't speak, just jumped from the rooftop and led the way to an alley nearby. As they landed a jet black car shot into sight and raced toward them, stopping short just feet from where they stood. "Holy-" Lantern jumped, surprised they hadn't just been run over. The top of the car slid back, revealing that it was empty, and Batman jumped inside.  
      "Get in."  
      " _This_ is your car?"  
      "Keep the light show to a minimum, we're trying not to draw attention."  
      "How does this car _not_ draw attention?" Green Lantern asked as he climbed into the passenger seat awkwardly. As soon as he was inside the roof slid closed and the car shot forward, and sure Hal flew jets, but _cars_ weren't supposed to go this fast on crowded streets. They were back to alleys soon enough and Lantern shouted and flinched back into the seat as they headed strait for a wall. The wall slid open, not the outcome he was expecting, and they were traveling down a dimly lit tunnel at an even faster speed. "And now there are tunnels? This is getting absurd, do you own this city? How do you have this kind of setup?"  
      "The primary system of caverns runs farther underneath the city than most people realize, and Wayne Enterprises has a hand in enough construction work to put in a few new roads."  
      "How loaded are you?" Lantern asked, feeling just a little bit intimidated.  
      "Well put it this way, if I wasn't spending exorbitant amounts of money on fighting crime I'd be one of the five wealthiest men in the world, as it is Wayne Enterprises has a surprisingly difficult time staying in the black."  
      The car pulled to a sudden stop in a huge open area and Batman jumped out as soon as the roof slid open. Green Lantern looked around, they were in some kind of natural cavern that had a system of walkways throughout it, bridging from one area of 'floor' to another. There was a gigantic computer taking up one area, in the direction Batman was heading to, and Lantern followed him up the stairs.  
      Sitting down at the computer Batman pulled down his cowl. "I should tell you strait off that I never intended to seek out my soulmate. I have little interest in the distraction from my work, and my activities as Bruce Wayne need to remain as worthy of gossip magazines as possible to distract people from my identity as Batman."  
      "Look, I really never have heard of Bruce Wayne so I don't know what you're talking about, but you're not really what I expected either. We have to talk this whole thing over though don't we?"  
      "I spend my nights protecting this city and my days running Wayne Enterprises, you spend the majority of your time on the other side of the galaxy. It is unlikely we will have much overlapping free time, we don't have to pursue this at all." Batman concluded.  
      That's not really the same as what Hal was thinking of when he thought they should talk. He was thinking more along the lines of finding out if they had any feelings for each other, or if they were even compatible personalities. More of a get to know you before the 'serious commitment' or 'ugly breakup' decision. Batman didn't seem like he was very open to emotional discourse.  
      "You didn't inform me we would be having a guest tonight master Bruce." An older man spoke, coming out of the shadows. Hal jumped, man and he thought Batman was sneaky.  
      "We're just having a conversation Alfred."  
      "A conversation. With you're soulmate. I see. Would you prefer tea, coffee, or a strong drink, Green Lantern?" The man, Alfred, asked Hal.  
      "Ah, I'm fine, and my name's Hal actually." He wasn't quite sure why he felt uncomfortable, but the atmosphere in the cave was a little like the feeling of a guilty child caught by a parent, though he wasn't sure if Bruce felt the same. Alfred disappeared back into the shadows. "So that was..."  
      "Alfred raised me after my parent's deaths, he's known about all of this" Bruce indicated the cave vaguely "since the beginning."  
      "Right..." Hal trailed off, he had no idea what to say next.  
***  
      So this wasn't exactly how he had assumed their conversation was going to go. From a purely physical standpoint it was certainly fulfilling, Hal was more flexible than Bruce would have thought, but he wasn't quite sure how they had gone from talking in the cave one minute to fooling around in his bedroom the next. He had the vague impression that it had something to do with Hal's mention of compatibility, but it wasn't very easy to think about it with Hal's tongue in his mouth. Bruce pushed the man farther back into the bed, and swallowed Hal's gasps as he slid his hands across the man's chest and stomach, and lower, his thumb brushing the edge of Hal's soulmark. Hal moaned as his legs fell open wider around Bruce, the answering ghost of feeling in his own soulmark made him shudder. Bruce pulled Hal's leg up around his waist and ground his dick against Hal's ass. Hal shuddered underneath him and pushed against Bruce's chest. Bruce stilled, looking down at his soulmate.  
      "What's wrong?"  
      If possible Hal's skin flushed an even deeper shade than it was already. "I've never... with a man.... I haven't... been fucked before."  
      Bruce moved his hands to either side of Hal's waist. "We won't go any farther than you're comfortable with Hal. What do you want?"  
***  
      Hal reached up, wrapping his arms around Bruce's waist and held him still as he thrust his hips up against the man above him. He didn't know what he wanted, he just needed... "I don't know... I just... I need..." He closed his eyes as he got lost in the slide of skin.  
***  
      The desperate, open need that showed on Hal's face had Bruce pushing closer, arching his back to slide his own soulmark over Hal's as they rutted together. Sparks flew in his vision at the sensation, the intensity, and he shuddered as he felt the soulbond solidifying between them as they came together.  
***  
      Hal woke to a dazzling ray of sunlight in his eyes. He was alone in the room, a glance at the clock told him that he had only been asleep four hours, _how long ago did Bruce wake up? He didn't really get by on four hours a night, did he?_  
      It took him a while to get out of bed, and someone had folded his clothes on a side table. _Had they been cleaned?_ Hal wandered through the halls and down more than one stairway, finally encountering Alfred on a landing.  
      "Mr. Jordan, good morning. Master Bruce had an emergency meeting at Wayne Enterprises but breakfast has already been served in the dining room, and I've set you a place at the table." Alfred indicated the door from which he had emerged before continuing on his way.  
      "Ah, thanks." Hal answered after him, turning to the dining room as his stomach growled.  
      He hadn't actually wondered about why there would be a whole breakfast set out just for him, if Bruce had already gone, so when he entered the room and found three pairs of bright blue eyes turning to stare at him he froze. The table was set for four, and three of the places were taken by dark haired boys in school uniforms.  
      "Who are you?" The youngest looking one asked.  
      Taken aback Hal just stared for a moment. "Hal Jordan."  
      The boys glanced at each other, sharing a secret look that Hal couldn't decipher. Finally one of them grinned. “He didn't mention us did he?”  
      “Um, no.”  
      “I'm Dick, that's Jason and Tim, Bruce is our dad.”  
      “You're his kids?” Hal was lost for words. _Bruce had kids?_ They looked like him, same hair, same eyes.  
      The grinning one, Dick, continued. “We usually have this conversation with ladies. Did Bruce invite you to dinner tonight or is this goodbye?”  
      “Ah, I haven't really talked to Bruce.”  
      “Yeah, he had a 'meeting' at Wayne Enterprises that came up suddenly, right?” Jason chuckled.  
      “So what do you do for a living Hal?” Tim asked.  
      “I'm a Air Force pilot.” Hal said, taking the empty seat. He was overwhelmed by this conversation, but he was still starving.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I realize that I'm ignoring GL's broken arm, so either he heals fast, Cyborg came up with some nanobots that fixed it, it wasn't really broken after all, they went back to star labs and did science stuff, or whatever other excuse you can think of, there are plenty of possibilities.  
> and the scenes where Batman sends the Robins to school and Lantern's perspective of the president's thanks should probably be switched timeline wise, but the way the words worked out I preferred it this way, instead of rewriting both of them differently.  
> And back in chapter one I switched the GCPD helicopters to be blimps instead.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, I still didn't get into the last few scenes as detailed as I wanted, but I didn't want to leave this unfinished for a month or whatever while I stared blankly at the computer not writing it. So I just went ahead and wrote it instead of thinking thinking thinking about it, which leaves some feelings/thoughts out that I had wanted to get to but does complete the story in the general way I wanted it so yay!

     “You could have mentioned that you have kids.”  
     Batman didn't bother looking away from his binoculars. “That wasn't relevant at the time.”  
     “Not relevant? My soulmate didn't think that mentioning that he has kids was important?” Green Lantern floated down to the rooftop Batman was crouched on.  
      “This isn't the time for this conversation.”  
      “When is? You didn't come home all day.” Lantern made a construct of binoculars to look at whatever Batman was watching.  
      “I was in the cave for six hours.”  
      Green Lantern found what Batman was watching, men in bright green suits were breaking into a tech company. “You could have mentioned that! You could have said 'hey Hal, I'm back from work, some green suited criminals are going to rob someone tonight let's go catch them.' You could have kept me in the loop.”  
      “You don't have experience with my team, and we aren't catching them, we're following them to find their leader. A glowing green man flying after them will get their attention and they won't lead us to the Riddler.”  
      “You're team? You have a team besides the 'Super Seven'? I don't remember hearing about any other mythical Gotham vigilantes.”  
      Batman didn't answer, but after a moment he raised a hand to his cowl. “Don't use a tracker, Riddler can hack the frequencies. Take out half of them and follow the rest on foot.”  
      “Who are you talking to?” Lantern said, lowering his binoculars.  
      “If you're that curious keep watching.”  
      Green Lantern turned the binoculars back to the building as he heard a distant crash of shattering glass. One of the green clad henchmen hurtled through the buildings front windows and more sounds of fighting could be heard as more henchmen fled outside. They climbed into vehicles as three capes followed the slower henchmen and took them down. All three were quicker than Lantern could properly see in the dark, spinning and flipping in the air, and taking down the last of the henchmen as the vehicles pulled away. All three shot lines to separate rooftops and followed the green henchmen, disappearing from Lantern's sight before the henchman's vehicles did.  
      “Did they do that without getting hit once?”  
      “It would have been better to exit the building in more than one place, we saw them all take off after the remaining henchmen, so anyone else could have as well.”  
      “Aren't you going to follow them?” Green Lantern asked, dispelling the construct binoculars.  
      “There's a meeting between Two-Face and the Zucco mob family on the other side of Gotham going on right now. They can handle Riddler for now.” Batman said as he replaced his own binoculars on his belt and lept from the rooftop.  
      Green Lantern followed and climbed into Batman's car after him. They sped through the streets even faster than last night and arrived next to another car with the same look as Batman's. “Alright so who's car is that? These aren't mass produced are they?”  
      “It's mine actually. What's the glowstick doing here, Batman?” A voice said from out of the dark.  
      Green Lantern spun, peering into the shadows, but he couldn't find the speaker. He raised his ring about to cast light into the corners of the alley but Batman's hand shot out and clamped down on his arm.  
      “You should be in position by now Batwoman.”  
      A woman dressed in a costume nearly identical to Batman but with red accents on it stepped forward. “Batgirl already found a way inside. It's been quiet so far, she's recording plenty of incriminating conversation.”  
      “Nothing we didn't already have, tonight is about taking them down. Get in position for the raid.” Batman ordered, gesturing for Lantern to follow him to the rooftops.  
      “There's a Batwoman and Batgirl now? How many of you are there?” Lantern asked as he followed Batman around to the side of a run down Italian restaurant.  
      “No one here will have powers so make sure you control yourself Lantern.” Was all Batman said as he lept into the building and began fighting hand to hand with the mobsters, disarming anyone who drew a weapon.  
      Green Lantern held back, Batwoman and the smaller Batgirl each fought with different styles than Batman did but they seemed to know each others moves and worked well as a team. They didn't look as though they would need his help at all, but he used a few constructs to deflect bullets away from the three anyway.  
      He still had a hard time believing that Batman was just a regular man in a suit, with no special powers at all. He moved like water but punched like a ton of bricks, he always knew just when someone was sneaking up behind him, and he dodged any bullets that Green Lantern didn't notice in time to deflect. It was all just training and experience, _and how long had Batman been around?_ He had only heard rumors about the vigilante recently, but he hadn't been looking for that kind of information until after he had become a Green Lantern. He had seen the scars that covered Bruce's body last night. They were everywhere and almost all of them hinted at serious injuries and close calls, but to survive after taking those hits and keep going afterwards, _keep doing this work with no powers?_ Hal wasn't sure how the man could be so recklessly determined, and he knew that was probably a pot calling the kettle thing for him to say but man, he hadn't been fighting aliens - _or mob families_ \- before he became a Lantern.  
      “You don't waste any time, do you Batman?” Lantern asked as the last men slumped down to the floor.  
      “Why is Green Lantern here? Is there going to be an alien invasion in Gotham?” Batgirl cut in, jumping over to land in front of Hal where he now stood next to Batman.  
      “No aliens that I'm aware of, I'm just here to-” He was cut off by the sound of approaching police sirens and the bats all springing towards the exits. “O-kay, so I guess we're done here?” Lantern said to himself, following after Batman back to the car.  
      “I still don't see why it would be such a bad thing to stick around and talk to the police.”  
      “This is my city Lantern, if you want to talk to the police go back to Coast City.” Batman said as he drove the batmobile down another series of tunnels to who knew where.  
      “I'm just trying to figure you out, like how you have a whole team I haven't heard of.” Lantern said as they pulled into the Batcave. “I mean are Batwoman and Batgirl meeting us here or do they live in the cave next door?”  
      “Batwoman and Batgirl don't know my identity or about the cave, they have their own headquarters.” Batman said as he lept out of the car.  
      “Then how do you call them in an emergency?” Lantern asked as he flew up and landed next to batman.  
      “I know their identities.”  
      “You don't really play fair, do you spooky?” Lantern asked as they climbed the steps towards the computer.  
      “Batman's big on secrets. He knows everyone else's, won't tell anyone what they are, and no one knows his. Like how he hasn't told us why you're allowed in the Batcave.”  
      Green lantern's gaze jerked up and took in the smirking boy leaning over the back of the chair that sat in front of the computer. He was wearing green gloves, a mask and had a yellow cape covered with a red hood. Looking around there were two similarly dressed boys standing next to him, one in a nearly identical costume but without the hood and the other in a similar costume but in red with a black cape.  
      "This is my soulmate, Hal." Hal felt a hand clap him on the shoulder and turned his head to see Batman brushing past him and continuing up the stairs as Green Lantern stood frozen on the steps. Reaching the computer Batman yanked on the chair, dislodging the boy. “Robin, Red Hood, Red Robin, did you find Riddler?” Batman asked as he sat before the computer.  
      “Yes, we put it in the report.” The one he assumed was Red Robin, based on the red costume, said.  
      “You're soulmate is Green Lantern?” The one he assumed was Red Hood, based on the red hood he wore, asked.  
      “These kids are your team?” Hal asked, finally managing to get his feet moving forward again.  
      “You should do your research Green Lantern. Everyone in Gotham knows Batman's partners are the Robins.” Robin said, peeling his mask away from his eyes to reveal Dick, one of the boys Hal had met this morning.  
      “Your sons? You have your own kids out there fighting criminals?” Hal demanded of Batman.  
      “Kids?” The three say, exchanging looks before they all rush him.  
      “What? What are you doing?” Hal asks as the boys crowd him back with kicks and lunges, forcing him away from the computer. Suddenly there was no ground for him to place his feet on and he felt himself falling, but instead of flying with his power he just kept right on falling and landed hard on a rough and rocky floor. Looking up he saw the three boys peering down at him from the higher level, huge grins on all their faces. One of them flicked a hand out and Hal saw his ring tumble through the air toward him. Oh and of course Batman's kids, _the Robins?_ , could get his ring off him too. This was just getting embarrassing.  
      “Are you going to train him before he can go on patrol with us?” Dick called over his shoulder to Batman.  
      “Yeah, If we can take him down he'll probably get himself killed out there.” Red Hood taunted.  
      “Why don't I leave that up to you three then? You could use a new sparring partner.” Batman called good-naturedly.  
      Hal picked up his ring and made his way to his feet, climbing wearily back to the same level as the others. Batman had pulled back his cowl and was completely focused on whatever he was doing on the computer.  
      “He'll be at that for a while, you should probably come upstairs Hal.” Dick called from along a cave wall where the boys were exchanging their costumes for sweatpants and loose shirts. Even from the distance Hal could see bruises and scars on their bodies that looked only slightly less serious than the scars he had seen on Bruce. They may be able to fight but contrary to what he had seen earlier that night they took a lot of hits doing it.  
      “Alfred always has snacks after we patrol.” Tim added.  
      “Go ahead Hal, I do need to finish this up.” Bruce said distractedly.  
      Hal was always up for excitement but the constant surprise after surprise he was encountering in Gotham City, and at Wayne Manor in particular was frankly becoming exhausting. He trudged tiredly up the stairs after the boys who still seemed to have plenty of energy, as if it wasn't two in the morning according to the clock that slid into place behind them as they left the Batcave.  
      Alfred did indeed have snacks for them, including sandwiches that Hal got the impression were just added in for him alone as the boys started in on the cookies.  
      “Bruce is going to be a while. He usually works all night, has to be thorough about _everything_ , no matter what case he's working on.” Tim called to him.  
      Hal joined them around the table, noticing a little disappointment in all three boy's eyes.  
      “Yeah, he doesn't really have a lot of time for anything else. Most of the stuff he does as Bruce Wayne is just to keep up appearances and make sure nobody would ever guess who he really is. Sometimes he has to host a party here but otherwise he's not around much.” Dick explained.  
      “I've noticed that.” Hal said, fighting a yawn. “How did you get involved in crime fighting anyway? Did Bruce ask you to do this?” Hal had no idea what his place here was. He didn't know if he even had a place here, though Bruce had told them that they were soulmates so maybe Bruce did want him around, but he already felt a little responsible for these kids. He may not be the one to talk about responsibility in, well in any case really, but it sure seemed irresponsible to let a bunch of kids go out and fight criminals every night.  
      “So Bruce really doesn't talk to you either huh? I would have thought he'd at least talk to his soulmate.” Tim said.  
      “We were all adopted. My parents were murdered and Bruce let me help catch the criminals who did it. I've been Robin ever since. Batman caught Jason taking the wheels off the Batmobile, apparently getting past the security on the car was impressive enough to adopt him too.” Dick explained while Jason smirked through a mouthful of cookie.  
      “I was basically stalking Batman and Robin, I figured out their identities and everything. So when my parents died Bruce adopted me too.” Tim revealed.  
      Orphans, just like Bruce. A sense of foreboding crept over Hal as he came to the realization of just how obsessed Bruce was with fighting crime. He had let it consume his life, so much so that Bruce Wayne had become the mask that Batman wore. Meeting these children and seeing within them his own history he had drawn them into his fight, a never-ending fight, with all crime. These weren't children, Batman had made them soldiers, excluding all of the nurturing and care that any child needs to be happy. Hal didn't think that Alfred could make up for the lack of a father's presence with cookies before bedtime. _Was this why the universe thought that Hal and Bruce matched as soulmates? Bruce needed someone to notice his flaws and get him back on track?_ Batman sure noticed Green Lantern's flaws, and didn't mind pointing them out, so maybe that was what made them good for each other.  
***  
      “Okay, I've thought about it and I think we should give this a try.”  
      Bruce had walked into his room after another hour at the computer, finally shooed away by Alfred who insisted that he get upstairs before Hal fell asleep. Bruce was surprised that Hal wasn't already, but apparently he had enlisted Alfred's help in arranging time to talk with him.  
     “Give what a try?” He asked, tossing aside the robe he had worn up from the cave.  
     “You and me. We never actually had that conversation, but I think that you need me to find your flaws as much as you like to point out mine. Besides, Gotham could use a little more light.” Hal said with a smirk from where he leaned against the headboard of Bruce's bed.  
      “Crime isn't fought in the light, not in Gotham.” Bruce said, joining him in bed.  
      “It would be nice if it was someday though, wouldn't it? Though I think the place that needs the most light is Wayne Manor. There are some kids there that think the only time their father has for them is when they are putting their lives at risk.”  
      “So you're reason for staying here is that you disapprove of my parenting skills?” Bruce said, noticing his voice slipping into the growl he used as Batman.  
      “Well I haven't actually seen your parenting skills, I've never even seen Bruce Wayne in the light of day. Batman's parenting could be a bit looser with the compliments though, the first thing you had to say about their skills was that they made a mistake all coming out of a building from the same window. Implying that they handle themselves better in a fight than I do by telling them to train me isn't the same as saying 'well done kids, you did a good job'. Don't you remember what you needed to hear when you were their age?”  
      Bruce didn't know whether he was furious or resigned. He knew he was terrible at expressing his feelings, and that he often couldn't find the right thing to say to the Robins, it had led to any number of arguments between them but it just wasn't something he could change. Having it pointed out, even by Alfred, always left him feeling bitter. Hal was his soulmate though, and that put him in a position much like Alfred, family. Family was supposed to call you on it when you made a mistake, that's how you did better the next time.  
      “We can discuss this later.”  
      “That means never right? You really don't take criticism well, do you?” Hal's expression made it clear that he was teasing, but it was true, he didn't. _So, how to distract Hal?_  
***  
      The kiss caught Hal by surprise. Maybe it shouldn't have, but it did anyway. Bruce moved his hands to either side of Hal's waist, and then carefully rolled them over, pulling Hal down on top of him. Hal was surprised but he wasn't complaining when Bruce's hands dragged his shirt higher up his chest and his mouth moved to trail kisses across the exposed skin.  
      “You really don't want to talk about this.” Hal laughed lightly, gasping as Bruce answered him by biting him softly.  
      Hal pulled back, sitting up to pull off his shirt the rest of the way and tossing it aside. “You have a lot of energy for someone who gets by on four hours of sleep. I think you need to make staying up this late worth my while, Bruce.”  
      “Is that your way of saying you're too tired to be on top?” Bruce asked, shoving Hal to the side and climbing over him.  
      The rest of their clothes disappeared in a blur, and suddenly they were both hard and aching and just trying to find release. Hal moaned as Bruce's weight held him down, their soulmarks touching again and again as Bruce moved over him. If he had been able to form a coherent thought he would have marveled at how Bruce really did have more focus and energy than anyone should rightly have on four hours of sleep and after a night of crime fighting. As it was Hal could only lose himself in the moment, and the sensation of Bruce's warm skin, rough here and there where it was marred by scars as Bruce pressed them tightly together to claim another kiss.  
      It didn't take long for either of them, with the extra stimulation from their soulmarks even the exhaustion from the long night was easily overcome, but as they lay together gasping for breath afterwards it wasn't long before they were both drifting off to sleep.  
***  
      It took him a while to pry his eyes open. He still felt exhausted, as though he could use another few hours of sleep, but the blinding sunlight stabbed at his eyes even when he kept them closed. _Why were the curtains always open in the morning?_  
      At least he was in a warm bed with arms wrapped around him. So Bruce hadn't rushed off to some meeting today. Hal sighed comfortably and leaned back against the broad chest behind him, determinedly closing his eyes against the sunlight.  
      Behind him there was a soft laugh, and before he fell asleep again it was followed by warm agreement. “I think we should give us a try too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Basically Dick, Jason and Tim are about 1ish years apart in age, so they're all junior highish age, which means that Dick can't be Nightwing, so he has to be Robin, and since Tim has to be Red Robin I decided to go with Jason being Red Hood, So the three all wear variations of Robin costumes, so Jason wears a red hood over his Robin costume, like Damian's where he wears a hood over his costume.  
> as I said in the notes at the start of this chapter, it was the scene where the Robins start eating cookies were I got stuck on, I really wanted to get into Hal figuring out how to be a responsible adult and a father figure to three suffering/sad/depressed kids, and the dialogue was giving me trouble. So everything after that scene was kind of rushed, but I didn't want to spend another week working/not working on this and I figured if I didn't finish it now I may never and that would have been annoying. So finished! yay!


End file.
